How did the Kingman Route 66 festival do?

The answer: Pretty well; thanks for asking.

The town of Kingman, Arizona, hosted the annual International Route 66 Festival for the first time last weekend. I’ve cobbled together some highlights from the event:

• Estimated attendance, according to the Kingman Daily Miner newspaper, was 6,000, which was in line with forecasts.
• About 60 percent of festival attendees were out-of-towners.
• Businesses reported a sizable increase in sales over the weekend.
• More than 1,000 went into Beale Celebrations downtown to check the work of Route 66 authors, artists, and collectors. A good roundup about it may be found here.
• General chatter from other Route 66 and Kingman Internet groups was very positive for the festival.
• Nearly 200 people attended the Route 66 Crossroads conference of speakers Friday and Saturday at Mohave County Administration Building. It also totaled 3,000 hits on YouTube’s live stream on Friday. The speeches are archived on YouTube here and here.
• Hundreds were at Locomotive Park for concerts, including by the Route 66-themed Road Crew from Tennessee.
• About 500 attended a sock hop and drive-in movie at the fairgrounds.
• The Hilltop Motel in Kingman was honored by the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for its preservation efforts.
• The 2015 International Route 66 Festival will be hosted by Edwardsville, Illinois, in late October, coinciding with the city’s popular Halloween festivities. (Clarification: Route 66 Alliance co-founder Michael Wallis informs me the Edwardsville event hasn’t yet officially been named as a host, but the group soon will be negotiating with the city for that purpose.)